Thursday, June 28, 2012

India's Tallest Family.. Their Amazing Story.

Mail Online - Sharad Kulkarni, 52, stands 7ft 1.5in tall; his wife Sanjot, 46, is 6ft 2.6in and
their daughters, Mruga, 22, and Sanya, 16, are 6ft 4in and 6ft 1in tall
respectively. Their combined height is a staggering 26ft,
almost. India's tallest family is likely to set a new Guinness record for being
the world's tallest.

Mr and Mrs Kulkarni were crowned India's
tallest couple by the Limca Book of Records a year after there wwere married. While the recognition did make them feel good,
it came after both faced years of teasing and ridicule as they grew up. 'In
three years of college life, I was all alone.
'I didn't have any friends because I was so
tall. It was only after I started getting publicity that people began
interacting with me,' Sharad said. When he hit 7ft as a teenager, he ploughed
his energies into sports and ended up playing basketball for the
country.

But Sanjot struggled to fit in her native
village. The pair began to accept early on in their teens that marriage might be
difficult.

'I was a basketball player and travelled the
length and breadth of India for tournaments. But I was never able to find a girl
who came close to my height.

The tallest I found was around 5ft 10 in. I had even decided not to marry and was planning to adopt a child. But, as chance would have it, one of Sanjot's relatives saw me,' Sharad said.

It was actually Sanjot's grandmother who spotted him walking down a street in Mumbai one evening and approached him. Sharad said: 'This lady came up to me and asked if I was single and if I would meet her granddaughter who was over 6ft tall. I didn't believe her and refused, but my friends persuaded me to take her number.'

A few weeks later, Sharad's parents called the number and a meeting was arranged for the couple. 'When I met Sanjot, I was happy. And I knew we would be happy together,' Sharad said. But he added that even now, the family faced problems, albeit of a different kind.

The family prefers scooters for road travel and when flying is necessary, they ask for a front seat or the emergency exit row. Being tall also means the four have to cope with people staring and talking behind their backs.

'It doesn't bother me and Sanjot anymore but our daughters get perturbed,' Sharad said. The Kulkarnis have wardrobes full of custom-made clothes and shoes.
And their house has been adapted to meet their needs - they changed the door frames from 6ft to 8ft high and have customised the furniture. Mruga and Sanya plan to put their height to good use and are thinking of foraying in modelling.

'We love being tall. I hear girls moan every day about their short height but we're so content. We are studying right now but are also trying to build a portfolio.'We hope our height will help us get a long career as models,' Mruga said, adding that 'husbands are a long way away yet'.
The Guinness Book of Records does not currently have a tallest family category, but would consider it

They can't use public transport such as trains and buses, and even four-wheelers are a nono because Sharad can't accommodate his knees inside